Reviews

Naruto: Rise of a Ninja

As you complete quests for the townsfolk, you'll earn more hit points, chakra (the inner source of energy that enables ninjas to use their jutsu techniques) and skill points that can be used to buy new combos for use during battle or to increase the efficacy of Naruto's jutsus. You'll also garner more respect from the residents of Konoha, which is of pivotal importance as only the happy citizens will help you out while those that have yet to warm to Naruto will shout nasty things at you if you ask them for aid (or sometimes if you just pass by them -- sheesh, what a bunch of jerks).

In practice, the quest system in Rise of a Ninja provides a regular flow of character progression and improvement, but it also serves to squeeze every last ounce of use out of the fairly huge game environments. See, most of the side-quests that don't progress the plot require you to revisit locations that have previously been dealt with, so you can expect a lot of backtracking if you want to be a completist and take care of every problem in Konoha. Still, the environments are as enormous as they are gorgeous, so while it may seem like a bit of a rehash to go back to places you've already been (sometimes dozens of times) it's also nice to get another look at the landscapes just to admire them. It should be noted that these side-quests are there if you need them and you're under no obligation to do them if you'd rather just blaze down the critical path of the storyline, though you'll find the main quest significantly easier if you complete side-quests for bonus health and chakra.

That Konoha is a Character

Speaking of the deliciously sweet environments, Rise of a Ninja sports some seriously impressive locales, all of which derive directly from the anime. Chief among these is the sprawling metropolis of Konoha Village, which, for all of its sprawl, is hardly urban enough to be called a metropolis. The entire city has been faithfully reproduced to function as an excellently explorable free-roaming environment similar to Pacific City in Crackdown. Also echoing Crackdown are the various areas of the city that are effectively roped off by barriers that Naruto cannot overcome until he's earned new and better abilities. Consequently, Konoha Village is like a giant treasure chest with tons of collectibles (in the form of special coins) hidden in every nook and cranny... and believe us, the joint is packed with crannies (and plenty of nooks as well).

With a gameplay environment as massive as Konoha Village, it could get annoying trying to navigate its vastness without something to speed things along. Fortunately, Naruto eventually earns a super-fast sprint that can be performed by holding down the right trigger. If that's not fast enough for you, Naruto can eventually gain the ability to run up certain walls (indicated by small white footprints trailing up into the distance) to gain access to the extraordinarily efficient Konoha Ninja Transit System (not its real name, of course) of zip lines that provide an even swifter method of travel. Granted, you'll probably want to take a leisurely jog around Konoha every time you finish a mission because the hidden coins seem to respawn over time, so there's a benefit to taking the time to pick through the city at a slower pace.

Outside of Konoha, you'll find one of the most fun activities in the game, which we've dubbed the Tree Run. Here, you guide Naruto as he leaps from tree to tree in order to reach a specific destination. These Tree Runs are activated by using the Chakra Concentration Jutsu to run up the side of a tree and begin the race. You never actually race against anyone but the clock, but it's still a fun diversion from all of the fighting and exploring and shows off one of Rise of a Ninja's best features: the intense variety of gameplay. Also, the motion-blur effects used during these Tree Runs is positively hypnotic if you hit enough of the jumps just right by pressing the A button at the correct moments.